Everything You Need to Know About the Equifax Fraud Alert

On Thursday, the world watched as the Equifax fraud alert made its way around the Internet. The credit card company announced that they had discovered a significant data breach that has impacted the identities and personal data of as many as 143 million consumers in the United States.

The personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers that were included in the breach has made the massive Equifax hack a top concern. The scope of this breach will affect at least44% of the entire American population.

Let’s talk about everything Equifax had to say, controversy about the crisis, and what this means for those affected.

What is Equifax?

Equifax is a global information solutions company that uses personal data to calculate credit scores. Being one of three main organizations in the U.S., Equifax holds the private details of as many as 143 million consumers. That includes everything from personal to financial data of nearly half of every American adult.

What is the Equifax Fraud Alert?

On Thursday, September 7th, Equifax announced to the public that hackers had accessed the company’s data as early as mid-May. Most victims are in the U.S., but some live in the United Kingdom and Canada.

So far, there doesn’t seem to be any information stating whether third-party contractors of Equifax were also affected.

It’s still unclear exactly who’s behind the breach, and Equifax hasn’t disclosed any information except that law enforcement is still working on the case. However, the Equifax dispute documents included in the hack appear to indicate that the hackers may have accessed the data through a customer submission service or similar.

What Will Happen to Those Affected?

One of the most cringe-worthy aspects of the Equifax fraud alert stems from the fact that among the information that was released, the individual’s Social Security numbers may be the most detrimental.

This number never changes, and having it means it can be used, sold, and resold again on the black market, assuming the data was stolen by criminals and not a nation state. Because of this, those affected will feel the impact of this breach for many years to come.

Equifax Fraud Alert Controversy

Aside from the obvious public backlash regarding the event, there are a few additional bits of controversy regarding the Equifax dispute.

Here’s a few, loosely flowing from bad to worse:

Casual GreetingsWhile many were just hearing the news, millions of people turned to the website and phone lines for help. Unfortunately, Equifax’s chatbots cheerfully wished frantic individuals a “happy Friday” with a (now-deleted) message, sparking outrage from customers.

Impossible Phone LinesIf you’re looking to contact Equifax over the phone, you may run into a bit of an issue. Unfortunately, their call center has been nearly impossible to get through to, isn’t open 24 hours to handle the storm of people trying to get a grip on their identity crisis, and the service line may not be staffed by actual employees (people have reported talking call centers that aren’t actually part of Equifax).

Fine Print DetailsOne appalling move by Equifax was their attempt to have victims unwittingly forfeit their right to sue if they signed up for the free credit monitoring offered by the company. Thankfully, users found the fine print hidden in the clause and backlashed on social media demanding it be removed.

Delay in AnnouncementOne question you may have already asked yourself is, “If the hack was discovered on July 29th, why are we just now finding out about it?” The company has declined to comment on the delay.One interesting theory? The fact that just after the breach was discovered, Richard Smith, Equifax’s CEO, was named one of “Atlanta’s Most Admired CEOs of 2017” and was honored at a gala on August 24th, 2017. It seems he may have wanted to wait to announce the breach until after he received his honor.

Executive SharesBloomberg News reported that three higher-ups at the company, including chief financial officer John Gamble, sold shares worth a combined $1.8 million in the days after the discovery. However, Equifax denied the top executives were aware of the hack and “had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time.”

“This is clearly a disappointing event for our company, and one that strikes at the heart of who we are and what we do. I apologize to consumers and our business customers for the concern and frustration this causes,” Equifax chairman and CEO Richard Smith said in a statement. “We pride ourselves on being a leader in managing and protecting data.”

How Can I Find out If I’ve Been Affected by the Equifax Dispute?

The cat’s out of the bag. The only thing users can do is check if they’ve been personally affected or not.

While phone lines seem to be rather useless, Equifax is offering a website—www.equifaxsecurity2017.com—where you can check whether your data has been compromised.

Currently, the website doesn’t give you many details about how you’ve been affected, but it does tell you if you haven’t:

However, it seems as though the site is churning out responses at random. Techcrunch had an interesting time inputting random names and numbers into the system, just to find that these imaginary people had also been affected by the breach. Doesn’t sound like an actual checker at all, does it?

Many users are convinced that the Equifax fraud alert website may be less about protecting consumers and more about getting them to sign up for their TrustID product.

Equifax Free Credit Monitoring

Equifax is offering a single year of free credit monitoring and identity theft insurance. While the offer feels genuine, it didn’t take victims long to read the fine print if you decide to opt into the service. Once you accept the free year of credit monitoring, you may be disappointed to learn that you’ve simultaneously opted out of your right to sue the company (read above if you missed this). Sneaky move, Equifax.

Let’s also keep in mind that Social Security numbers are forever, and a single year doesn’t do much in the grand scheme of things.

So, What Now?

You may be feeling a bit hopeless at this point, so here are a few safety measures you should take in the days (or years) to come:

Keep a close eye on your finances.

Monitor your personal credit report and activity.

Check for new credit applications in your name.

Consider placing a credit freeze on files, making it harder for impostors to open new accounts using your name.

File taxes early to mitigate the risk of tax fraud (when someone uses your Social Security number to get a tax refund).

After the Equifax fraud alert, there will undoubtedly be more questions in the days ahead.

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Shelby Taylor :Shelby Taylor is the Inbound Marketing Specialist at Perimeter 81. Perimeter 81 is a leading cloud VPN provider, dedicated to transforming secure network access for the modern and distributed workforce. Unlike traditional VPN technology, Perimeter 81’s highly scalable, cost-effective and easy-to-use cloud VPN service gives companies of all industries and sizes the power to be confidently cloud-based and completely mobile.